The Salary Increase You Need to Live in 15 Major US Cities

The cost of living can vary greatly from city to city. So if you’re thinking of relocating, your current salary might not cut it in a different metro area.

To help you figure out the cost of living in a new city, GOBankingRates used Sperling’s Best Places’ salary comparison tool to calculate how much you need to make to maintain the same standard of living in the destination city.

If You’re Moving to Atlanta

Atlanta is one of the best cities for a successful 2018, a previous GOBankingRates study found. The city has experienced a large increase in employment, with one of the highest number of job openings in the U.S. Additionally, weekly income in the city has been increasing.

If You’re Moving to Chicago

Chicago is one of the best cities to score your dream job. A previous GOBankingRates study found that Chicago is the top-paying city for sales managers and school psychiatrists, with median salaries at $75,500 and $71,000, respectively.

If You’re Moving to Denver

Incomes are on the rise in Denver, where the mean hourly wage is now almost $27 an hour, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A major boom in tech jobs and development has led to a rise in higher-paying jobs in the metro area.

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If You’re Moving to Houston

If your dream job is nurse practitioner, Houston is where you want to be, according to a previous GOBankingRates study. The Texas city offers the highest median salary for nurse practitioner jobs at $101,500.

If You’re Moving to Miami

A 2017 Indeed study on the best cities for job seekers rated Miami highly on many of its metrics, including perfect scores for work-life balance and job security and advancement. Trade, transportation and utilities industries are the biggest employers in Miami, followed by professional and business services, according to the BLS.

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If You’re Moving to New York City

New York City is the top-paying city for middle school teachers, occupational therapists, operations research analysts and public relations specialists, according to a separate GOBankingRates study. It’s a good place to live for anyone who aspires to work in the teaching field: New York state has the second-highest teachers’ salaries in the U.S., another GOBankingRates study found.

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If You’re Moving to Portland

Portland is the best city in Oregon for a successful 2018, a previous GOBankingRates study found. The city has a low unemployment rate, a high rate of employment increase, and a relatively high average weekly income compared to the rest of the state.

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If You’re Moving to San Diego

San Diego is the top-paying city for elementary school teachers and translators, a separate GOBankingRates study found. The SoCal city’s median salary for elementary school teachers is $44,000, while the median salary for translators is $64,000.

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If You’re Moving to San Francisco

San Francisco is one of the American cities where income is growing the fastest, a previous GOBankingRates study found. It’s also one of the U.S. cities that have the most job openings, according to a different GOBankingRates study. It’s an especially lucrative city for statisticians: It’s the top-paying place for the analysts, with the median salary at $112,500.

If You’re Moving to San Jose

San Jose is the best city in California for a successful 2018, a separate GOBankingRates study found. Even though employment is decreasing in San Jose, income is on the rise. In fact, another GOBankingRates study found that San Jose is one of the cities where income is growing the fastest.

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If You’re Moving to Seattle

Seattle is a good city for job-seekers. The metro area is the best city in Washington for a successful 2018, and has one of the fastest income growth rates in the country, according to two separate GOBankingRates studies. Seattle is also the highest-paying city for IT managers, with the median salary at $93,000.

Methodology: GOBankingRates determined the salary increase you need to maintain your standard of living in 15 major cities, using U.S. Census Bureau data to select the most populated cities with the greatest estimated flow of population in from other areas. We also looked at the median household incomes in the three cities that send the greatest population flow into each of the cities. To determine the equivalent median household income in the destination city, GOBankingRates used Sperling’s Best Places salary comparison tool, which calculates how to maintain the same standard of living in the destination city based on food, housing, utilities, transportation and health costs.

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